New Lowe's store to fill old Wal-Mart site

A Lowe's home improvement store is going into the former Wal-Mart building on Tharp Road, said Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Loscotoff.

Lowe's, headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., did not immediately return phone calls on Monday regarding the store.

A new Wal-Mart Supercenter opens today at the Yuba City Marketplace retail center, at the intersection of Harter Road and Colusa Avenue. The new Supercenter will make the old store built in 1992 obsolete. Without a new tenant, the store would become empty - a possibility that would cause blight, some critics said.

Since 2004, Wal-Mart has been pursuing a split of its 31 acre Tharp Road property that includes the Wal-Mart and a Sam's Club in order to sell off the 13-acre Wal-Mart piece. The Yuba City City Council approved the split in September after a controversy over whether to make Wal-Mart build a third turn lane on Colusa Avenue. The City Council decided there was no way to show a lot split would cause more traffic on the busy street.

A Lowe's Web site said the company has 1,200 home improvement stores in 49 states and claims it is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world, with fiscal 2004 sales of $36.5 billion.

Appeal-Democrat reporter John Dickey can be reached at 749-4711. You may e-mail him at jdickey@appeal-democrat.com.